Bertalan Tóth: We Need to Keep the Peace in Europe

The MSZP-Dialogue alliance held a torchlight march on the Day of Europe in Budapest. Bertalan Tóth stressed that peace in Europe can only be kept by seeking common solutions and creating the material and physical security of people together. He promised that they would do their utmost to ensure that Europe's future is not determined by extremist, nationalist forces that are against Europe.

Bertalan Tóth began his speech by recalling May 9, 1950, when Robert Schuman announced the plan based on which we celebrate the European Union's birthday today. The plan was primarily about economic co-operation, said the MSZP president, but already then the goal was to have peace in Europe after World War II, and this goal has been achieved.

Bertalan Tóth compared the notable day to Europe Day 69 years later: in Sibiu on Thursday, Europe's leaders discussed what future they had in mind and envisioned for Europe. Most of the statements about the meeting were about deeper cooperation in Europe as the key to keeping the peace, and that the EU must be about people beyond economic interests.

"Peace can only be kept in the European community if the partners negotiate with each other, and if they ensure the material and physical security of the people living in Europe together," said MSZP’s president. He added that this does not apply to everyone; there are those who do not encourage cooperation. They proclaim the primacy of nation-states once again: they are interested in maintaining problems rather than finding common solutions to serve their own power interests at home. Bertalan Tóth made it clear that he was referring to the Prime Minister, who was looking for an alliance with powers that are not thinking in terms of the same kind of Europe as most European citizens and politicians do.

The president of MSZP also talked about the stakes of the European Parliamentary elections. He said we would decide whether Europe is about cooperation, the secure livelihood of its citizens, or about nation-states taking the initiative to secure their own power in their own country, and in Hungary about EU subsidies being stolen. It is also the stake of the election of 26 May whether Hungary will remain in the role of a constant trouble-maker, drifting away from the "European mainstream", or there will be representatives in the European Parliament who choose the other path: cooperation and ensuring people's secure livelihood.

MSZP has created its new left-wing alliance with Dialogue, so that forces would be in the majority of the European Parliament, who representing a Social Europe; speak about the need to create a European minimum wage, a minimum pension and family allowance. They have come together to make sure the future Europe is not about multinational corporations, but about the people in it. They will fight, he promised, so that the far-right, nationalist and populist forces actively organized by the prime minister would not be in a position to determine the future of Europe.

Returning to the opening thought, he emphasized that Robert Schuman did not dream of a future toward which these extremist forces would bring the European community. The president of MSZP expressed respect towards his predecessors that created this community to have peace in Europe, however, he added: "Now it is our turn because this very peace must be kept!”